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Laid off from job. Want to teach English now.

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    66

    Laid off from job. Want to teach English now.

    Like many people I was laid off from work due to my company not doing well in this economic environment. I was working in a marketing role for a tech company. The job market is currently very tough and I haven't had many interviews. I can foresee this tough job market lasting until mid 2023 or even longer.

    Anyway I have a decent severance package to keep me going for a few more months as well as savings, but I was thinking of teaching English in the mean time to at least have some money coming in. I know it won't come close to the salary I was on at the tech company I was at, but some money coming in is better than no money coming in. It's also something that will keep me busy, and another learning experience for me.

    How hard would it be for me to get an English teaching job? My background:

    • Native British English speaker (I'm from the UK)
    • I have Hong Kong permanent residence (my parents are from Hong Kong)
    • Zero experience in teaching.
    • I don't have TEFL or any teaching qualifications but I'm looking to do the TEFL course.
    • I've been living in Hong Kong for eight years and all the jobs I've done have been in marketing (not sure whether this makes any difference in the advice I'll be given).

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    12,323

    Do you have a good network of friends with school age kids? If yes, a whatsapp suggesting you are available as a part time tutor might work. You will need some form of qualification for anything else.

    mexmon likes this.

  3. #3

    You might be able to get some private lessons. You will be ripping off your students as you don't know what you're doing.

    Trebor, mexmon and angeluscomplex like this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Posts
    535

    In the good days, people were willing to pay 400-500 hkd per hour just to have a conversation with a native english speaker.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    1,478

    You can do TEFL intensively within a month if you are willing to really work full time at it.... without that just private tutoring really.

    arathi likes this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Tai Po
    Posts
    36

    Just PM and we will see what we can do. Cheers!

    rkenia852 and Chekki like this.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    6,531

    If you want to do a training course and actually have hands-on experience and learn practical things, I would recommend this course:
    https://hongkongtesol.com/qualificat...nity-certtesol

    In the past they had some good teachers and a good environment. I think they may also have a team that works with schools (maaaaybe for future job connections, I'm not sure, ask them). You could start the next in take in a week... and yeah, becoming an English teacher is a bit of a scam because you always need to keep paying for qualifications to get a poorly paid job (the price is so high now!)... it's one of those industries... But they have some taster courses or days. Check it out. It would be far more valuable than an online course.

    Where do you think you're going to work in Hong Kong? Do you like working with children or do you have any experience with children to know what it's like (before you dig into getting qualified)? This is an important question you have to consider carefully.

    I'd say there is very little work in Hong Kong for adults (at least, that is, for inexperienced teachers) but heaps of work teaching English (for a poor salary) for kids. But you need to clearly know whether or not that's your cup of tea, because it's a very special cup of tea and can be very draining if you don't like it. You could ask around at local tutoring centers in your neighborhood. Maybe just ask if you can do some job shadowing at first, unpaid, just to get an idea if you like the atmosphere.

    (Btw, long-term, I would say it's kind of an industry you get burnt out in.... err, cynic here... to keep progressing and get a higher salary you need to keep getting qualifications. It can get boring... but initially it can also be a lot of fun meeting different people, playing language games, etc.)


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Sep 2022
    Posts
    1,371

    Hi..I know it's not what you asked for at all but putting this down as an option you could check out, if for nothing else just to settle nerves knowing there are other leads out there you cld explore while you look into teaching ✊

    https://corp.scmp.com/work-with-us/
    *Dep on role, some flex on local lang req

    Andy1987 likes this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Kai Tak
    Posts
    356

    You can get a TEFL within a day or two easily. All the courses are the same, don't fork out for them. I did mine from TeflAcademy, but I can say most employers don't care where it comes from, it matters on the hours of the course (example 100, or 120). But a TEFL is just for a VISA really.

    Since you don't need a VISA, you should be able to get in the door fairly easily because you do not need to get a sponsor. That saying, you shouldn't go straight for a school job but a lot of tutorial centres are hiring right now. It is the quiet part of the year, but you should be able to find something!


  10. #10

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Pampanga, Philippines
    Posts
    29,766
    Quote Originally Posted by Cegaiga:
    You can get a TEFL within a day or two easily. All the courses are the same, don't fork out for them. I did mine from TeflAcademy, but I can say most employers don't care where it comes from, it matters on the hours of the course (example 100, or 120). But a TEFL is just for a VISA really.

    Since you don't need a VISA, you should be able to get in the door fairly easily because you do not need to get a sponsor. That saying, you shouldn't go straight for a school job but a lot of tutorial centres are hiring right now. It is the quiet part of the year, but you should be able to find something!
    Is it common for the tutorial centres to employ people with no qualifications or experience?

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